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Rabat – The government on Tuesday launched a new technical committee aimed at monitoring the supply of petroleum products in the country, Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Development Leila Benali, announced.
Composed of representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Subsidies Fund, is tasked with mitigating the domestic effects of surging international prices, the minister explained while answering MPs in a questioning session at the House of Councillors.
Regarding the government’s strategy to reduce the cost of energy bills, the minister said that the government is actively undertaking several joint initiatives with the private sector to increase the country’s storage capacity for petroleum products.
According to the minister, the country’s storage capacity for petroleum products increased to 187,000 cubic meters since the beginning of 202. This provides an additional storage volume that can last between 7 to 19 days through an investment of MAD 800 million ($79.9 million). In theory, larger reserves could shield consumers against fluctuating fuel prices.
While addressing MPs, Benali further announced that the government is investing MAD 1.2 billion ($119.9 million) throughout 2023 to increase petroleum stock to 370,000 cubic meters, equivalent to 6 to 17 days of domestic use of petroleum products.
In September 2022, Morocco’s Competition Council released an alarming report suggesting that the rise in fuel prices is partly due to external pressure and to possible predatory practices.
In a comprehensive market evaluation, the council concludes that fuel prices in Morocco mirror those on the international market only when prices are on the rise, but do not necessarily decline when prices drop on the global market.
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